An apparatus, computer-readable medium and computer-implemented method for masking data, including applying an irreversible function to a first data element to generate a derivative data element, the first data element being of a first data type and the derivative data element being of a second data type different than the first data type, selecting at least a portion of the derivative data element to serve as a template, generating a masked data element as the result of converting the template from the second data type to the first data type.